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Journalist’s Tradethe bounty of total victory. He is amonument to the self. And with thestock market soaring and political participationplummeting, perhaps he isthe icon of our time.With virtually no dissent, the Americanmedia—and not just sportswriters—haveunquestioningly acceptedthe Jordan mythology. Dozens of newscommentators have proclaimed Jordanthe greatest basketball player of alltime, hands down, as if Wilt Chamberlainsomehow doesn’t count becausehe played before the advent of ESPN.But the hagiography extends beyondthe question and coverage of Jordan’sathletic abilities. It often seems thatJordan’s consistent ability to win hasworked to inflate our estimation of hischaracter.Because Jordan was nearly perfecton the court, there seemed to be adesire to find perfection in his characteras well. “What made Jordan specialwas his demanding code of personalexcellence,” The New York Times declared.Even a writeras wise as DavidHalberstam, for instance,can’t resistcalling Jordan the“most charismatic”player the game hasseen—apparently ignoringthe affable likes of CharlesBarkley, Magic Johnson, Walt Frazierand others, and embellishing Jordan’sbland persona.When Jordan flashed a less amicableside—when he reportedly called NewYork Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy a“fucking hockey puck,” for instance—the press tended to chuckle and dismissit. Critical assessments of Jordanseemed to be off-limits. And why was itthat only Time magazine and one Milwaukeenewspaper ran a story about awoman who filed a paternity suit againstJordan last year?Admittedly, Jordan has taken hislumps in the media, most notably whenstories emerged several years ago abouthis gambling habits. But it’s plainlyevident that members of the medianever really questioned whether Jordanis everything an American heroshould be.42 Nieman Reports / Fall 1999Looking Beneath Jordan’sCommercial PersonaAlthough he was deservedly praisedas a decent guy with a common touchwith lesser mortals, Jordan’s personalityhas always been rather bland. Farless colorful than several of his contemporaries,Jordan inevitably spokein throwaway clichés and hollow jockjargon. At his brief retirement pressconference, Jordan was his typicallybanal self, using variations of the word“challenge” 20 times. He may have illuminatedour understanding of the sportwith deeds, but never with words.And although the NBA and his corporatepatrons, including the Disneycorporation, created a gentle, smilingand gracious persona for Jordan, thiswasn’t always the case. Jordan was,undoubtedly, polite to the media andhis fans, graceful and composed inpublic. But he had a darker side, oneexplored in Sam Smith’s 1992 book“The Jordan Rules” (Pocket Books).Because Jordan was nearly perfect onthe court, there seemed to be a desire tofind perfection in his character as well.Smith depicted Jordan as selfish, arrogant,obsessed with statistics, and disparagingto his teammates, whom heonce referred to as “my supportingcast.” Over the years he never hesitatedto yell at teammates who failed to passhim the ball. As recently as a 1998 NBAFinals game, Jordan shouted at Bullsforward Scottie Pippen for not passinghim the ball—after Pippen had draineda game-tying three-pointer.His Airness is also a famously thinskinnedfellow. Criticism is often causefor massive retaliation, as Sports Illustratedlearned after it published a 1993article mocking his ill-fated stint as abaseball player. Jordan stopped talkingto reporters from the magazine foryears; some editors even believe thatJordan intentionally leaked word of hisretirement just after that week’s editionof SI had gone to press.Jordan’s sharp edges seem to growfrom his intense competitive drive,which has been the object of muchawed admiration. But it was often excessiveby any standards. Never famousfor sportsmanship, Jordan was one ofthe nastiest trash-talkers of his day, andhe loved to humiliate his rivals. As hisformer coach Doug Collins once said,“He wants to cut your heart out andthen show it to you.” Nor was he graciousin losing. He was known to petulantlysweep the pieces off a boardgame when things weren’t going hisway. Halberstam writes that in collegeJordan frigidly refused to speak to anassistant coach who had beaten himrepeatedly in pool and even cheated atgolf. “If you challenge him,” TorontoRaptors coach and former player DarrellWalker told The Toronto Star last year,“he can be a very vindictive person.”This apparent pathology may explainthe taste for high-stakes gamblingthat is the one real blotch onJordan’s sterling reputation. Jordan admittedin 1992 to paying$165,000 in poker and golfdebts to a pair of unsavorycharacters, one of whomwas later murdered. And aformer golfing partnerwrote a book claiming thatMichael had lost $1.25 millionon the links in 10 days.(A penitent Jordan admitted bettingwith the man but said the figures hadbeen exaggerated.) Rumors still lingerthat Jordan’s debts were a factor in hisstartling first “retirement” in 1993—some suggest that the league insistedhe lay low for a while.Jordan’s obsession with victory—however meaningless, be it in golf orcards—is hailed as an inspiring exampleof his personal excellence. Yet even hisfather wondered about this side of Jordan.“My son doesn’t have a gamblingproblem,” James Jordan once said. “Hehas a competition problem.”Keeping His Distance FromSocial IssuesDespite his ever-growing wealth andinfluence, Jordan has never shown